The Reward: A Trip To Spain Divers Lead South Floridians` Search For Gold In Barcelona.

July 23, 1992|By SHARON ROBB, Staff Writer

Fort Lauderdale Diving Team coach Ron O`Brien has sent a diver to each of the seven Olympic Games in which he has coached.

But never has he had four divers competing in men`s and women`s 3-meter springboard and platform in the same Games.

Heading the Fort Lauderdale contingent is Kent Ferguson, 29, a two-time Olympic alternate who battled back from a dislocated shoulder and torn rotator cuff to make his first Olympic team on 3-meter.

Karen LaFace, 26, overcame a serious arm injury when she was hit by a truck while riding her bicycle to practice less than two months before the Olympic Trials. She had a deep gash on her forearm that required stitches and plastic surgery. LaFace, who will attend medical school on a full scholarship, will compete on 3-meter.

Scott Donie, 23, an All-American at Southern Methodist University and a national champion, came back from a broken foot and serious wrist injuries to qualify for the platform.

Mary Ellen Clark, 29, who has been competing for 22 years, qualified on platform.

With four of eight members of the U.S. team, the Fort Lauderdale Diving Team will have the strongest representation among a diversified group of South Florida Olympians when the Games begin Saturday in Barcelona, Spain.

For 16 days, local Olympians will compete among 10,000 athletes for 257 gold medals. Stay tuned.

JOEL THOMAS SWIMMER PUT LIFE, WORK ON HOLD FOR CHANCE AT OLYMPIC MEDAL

Joel Thomas graduated from the University of California and was ready to take a high-paying job in New York that required a two-year commitment.

Then a phone call from a friend training with the Fort Lauderdale Swim Team convinced him to put his life on hold and continue his swimming career.

Thomas, a former water polo teammate of Matt Biondi, wanted to see how good a swimmer he could become working with 1976 Olympic coach Jack Nelson.

Thomas, 25, finished sixth in the 100-meter freestyle at the swim trials in Indianapolis and qualified for the 400-meter freestyle relay. He is the first Nelson-coached U.S. swimmer to make the team since 1972.

``I literally put my life on hold and lived out of a suitcase,`` Thomas said. ``I didn`t want to look back and think I could have, I should have, I would have.``

MICHAEL MATZ SURVIVAL BRINGS NEW OUTLOOK ON LIFE

Equestrian Michael Matz has been a changed man since surviving an air disaster.

The 23-year veteran of the sport became a national hero after he saved two children during the 1989 crash-landing of United Airlines flight 232 that killed 111 in Sioux City, Iowa. Matz and his fiance, D.D. Alexander, a fellow rider, were among 185 survivors.

``I just remember saying to another passenger beside me that whatever happened we had to get those children out,`` said Matz, a divorced father of two.

``I never thought I would

die that way. I didn`t think it was my time to die. Thank God it wasn`t.``

Matz, 41, of Wellington and Collegeville, Pa., and his top mount, Heisman, led all qualifiers for the four-member U.S. Equestrian Team that will ride in the Olympics. His last Olympic appearance was in 1976 in Montreal.

``I`d always get back to the farm and say, `This is wrong, that is wrong,``` Matz said. ``But the first time after the crash I said, `The farm looks great.` I appreciate things a lot more now.``

WENDY BRUCE GYMNAST OVERCOMES INJURIES --- AND THE ODDS

At 19, Wendy Bruce is the oldest member of the U.S. women`s gymnastics team. She had to ride an emotional roller coaster to get there.

Then, there was the controversial selection process of the United States Gymnastics Federation at the trials in Baltimore.

Despite a fall from the balance beam, Bruce, from North Lauderdale, was one of eight gymnasts named to a provisional team. But then she had to prove herself again.

Before a special committee at a two-day training camp in Altamonte Springs, where she trains with Kevin and Rita Brown, Bruce was one of the seven gymnasts chosen.

``I know I did this for myself, but more important was I did if for my parents and the Browns who stuck by me probably more than they should have,`` Bruce said.

RON FRASER AN OLYMPIC SENDOFF FOR UM`S `WIZARD`

In 1963, the University of Miami hired a baseball coach for $2,200 a year. Not a bad investment for Ron Fraser, the man they call the wizard of college baseball.

A trailblazer of the sport, the recently retired UM coach makes his last stand in Barcelona as coach of the U.S. Olympic baseball team.

Fraser, 55, retired after 30 years at UM. In the early days, he was groundskeeper, coach and concessionaire. He bagged peanuts in the afternoons and nailed broken bats together at night. He used to rub evaporated milk into old baseballs to make them look new.

``Thirty years... that`s a long time,`` Fraser said. ``I haven`t had much time to think about all that`s happened. Maybe someday I will.``